Padre Carissimo
by DragonkynNatKiasu
Summary: Asvoria "Ash" Ketchum; the sole female Trainer from Pallet Town, Aura Guardian from the bloodline of Sir Aaron Vilaire, daughter of Cordelia Ketchum… and Giovanni Ketchum. Follow the Ash's story as she journeys through Kanto alongside her friends and Pokemon, and tries to live up to other's lofty expectations. Fem!Smart!Aura!Ash, Papa!Giovanni. Full Summary Inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Epilogue; Attraverso Gli Occhi Di Un Padre**

 _ **Asvoria "Ash" Roseleah Ketchum; the sole female Trainer from Pallet Town, Aura Guardian from the prestigious bloodline of Sir Aaron Vilaire, daughter of Cordelia "Delia" Ketchum, renowned retired Pokemon scholar… and Giovanni Ketchum, the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto, and the head of Team Rocket. Follow the Ash's story as she journeys through Kanto alongside her friends and Pokemon, and tries to live up to other's lofty expectations. Fem!Smart!Aura!Ash, Papa!Giovanni.**_

 **-This is the almighty Linebreak-**

It was ridiculous.

He was _Giovanni Ketchum_! Leader of renowned crime organisation, Team Rocket by night; the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto by day; wealthy, cunning businessman in charge of the Semprevede Corps. worth billions of PokeDollars… and here he was wringing his hands and biting his lips in the waiting room of Viridian City's Pokemon Centre as his wife screamed profanities, declarations of how much she hated him, or what she'd do to him once it was all over, or how it was all his fault, or just screamed wordlessly. _**[A.N. In my stories, Pokemon Centres double up as hospitals for humans, with nurses dedicated solely to Pokemon Care and Human Care. Chansey typically help out in Pokemon Care, but in desperate situations, they care help out in Human Care. Carry On!]**_

Arceus, he was one of the most powerful men in Kanto, and here he was reduced to a bundle of nerves held together by worry as his wife gave birth. He had never in his whole life felt so… so _helpless_ , and this wasn't even the first time he had to go through this… His thoughts flashed to his eldest child before returning to his screaming wife. _That boy chose to run away. Let him be. If he doesn't want the honour of being the heir to Team Rocket, fine! Ungrateful brat,_ the admittedly harsh words of his mother, ex-head of Team Rocket and known as "Madame Boss", ran through his mind before he pushed all other thoughts out of his mind as the lilac-haired nurse walked over to him. Nurse Althea - similarly to how all Pokemon Care nurses were called Nurse Joy, all Human Care nurses and doctors were called Althea, for women, or Iason, for men - smiled at him with a hint of weariness, cordially informing him, "You may see your with and child now."

Giovanni practically leaped from his seat, and briskly walked - _he would_ _ **never**_ _be caught running, he had a_ _ **reputation**_ _to maintain!_ \- over to the ward where his wife was. He hesitated for a moment, then cursed his weakness as he heard Nurse Althea's soft giggle, adjusting his tie and opening the door to the ward. His eyes immediately were drawn to his wife, Cordelia - or, as she **insisted** on being called, _(really, if you accidentally called her Cordelia, depending on her mood, she could lecture you for an_ _ **hour**_ _.)_ Delia. Even when weary from hours of labour, she was as radiant to him as the day they met- her flame-red hair was fanned out around her on the bed like a wreath of flame, and a light colouring of red dusted her cheeks from exertion as she caught her breath, admiring a bundle of cloth with a gentle smile on her face. Her head lifted as she heard the door creak open, and her smile widened, still breathtakingly beautiful despite the bone-weariness evident in her features.

"Come here, love," Delia murmured, turning her attention back to the cloth bundle that no doubt held their newborn child. As Giovanni stiffly walked to her side, not quite knowing what to do at this point, she once again murmured softly, "She's beautiful, Giovanni." Then, glancing up at her stiff husband, she laughed softly- a pleasant, tinkling sound- before offering the newborn to him. Giovanni paused before gently taking the child into his arms. Giovanni gave a relieved and happy exhale of breath, at the sight of his child, his daughter- she had her mother's gentle cheekbones, but had his milky-white skin _(hey, his multiple occupations were all mostly based indoors, not his fault. At all.)_ and a sparse head of jet-black hair the same shade as his own. Giovanni relaxed, adjusting his daughter to a less awkward position in his arms. "You're right, Cordelia. She's beautiful," he rumbled softly. He unwittingly let out a startled gasp as his child shifted in his arms- he'd half-expected her to be a porcelain doll of sorts, with how… tiny, and delicate she looked. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing pine green, orbs that were identical to her mother's, down to the sparkle of intelligence in them. She stared back at her astonished father, slightly lifting up her pudgy right hand to touch him, when Giovanni noticed an oddity- on the back of said hand, was an azure birthmark in the shape of a four-pointed star with two stylized wing shapes on its right and left sides. Giovanni gently grabbed his daughter's right hand, staring at the simple birthmark that loudly declared to all who knew its meaning as his thumb subconsciously ran over it.

She is an Aura Guardian, Giovanni thought. The mark told all; those born with the innate ability to access and harness the power of Aura, those known as Aura Guardians were all born with one of four marks; firstly, a stylized wing-like shape that showed the wearer to be a Guardian who would excel in offense, but lack sorely in defense and healing, which was most common; a circle within a ring showed that the wearer, conversely, specialized in healing and defense and would fall short in offense; the stylized wing surrounding a circle showed that the wearer would be a jack of all trades, but master of none, as they would be average in both areas of Aura; then there was the rarest mark, the one his daughter carried on her hand right now, that showed the wearer had the potential to be a true master of Aura, excelling in both offensive and defensive usage of Aura.

"Is… is there something wrong, Giovanni? She's all right, isn't she?" The slightly trembling voice of his wife shook Giovanni out of his reverie, making him aware of his daughter's crying. That _was_ normal for babies, right? Right. "No, no, nothing's wrong," he assured her, and Delia visibly relaxed at his words. Giovanni didn't continue speaking, merely showing his wife his now less-loud daughter's right hand. She quickly took on a contemplative look, and as Doctor Iason approached them, she mumbled under her breath, "I'll have to contact Aaron and Natasha…"

After a brief, concise explanation, Giovanni reluctantly handed his daughter to Doctor Iason for her checkups and injections. Soon, a rather harried-looking Nurse Iason came into the ward with a file of papers, briefly dumping them on the small table near the bed where Delia lay. "Umm, what is your daughter's name?" he questioned, not pausing from his writing in what Giovanni assumed to be his daughter's medical file. Delia immediately answered, "Asvoria. Asvoria Roseleah Ketchum." Giovanni remembered their discussion on what to name their child- Red for a redhaired boy _(yes, uncreative, he knew, but Cordelia_ _ **insisted**_ _for some reason or another)_ , but Russell if he took his father's hair, in honour of Delia's father; Roseleah for a red-haired girl, and Asvoria for a raven-haired one, in honour of Lady Asvoria, the wife of Delia's distant ancestor, Sir Aaron, as she truly fit her name, being nigh the embodiment of sagely wisdom. However, Delia has so liked both names for their possible daughter that they agreed to make the unused birth name as a middle name.

Giovanni watched boredly as Nurse Iason scrambled to gather all the loose papers in the file before he scurried off in the direction Doctor Iason went. Giovanni couldn't help but roll his eyes- they had already developed a means of healing Pokemon in seconds, and _still_ they used paper for their medical files?

"Giovanni," Delia murmured, looking up at her husband, "I love you." Giovanni couldn't stop the small smile that crept across his face as he brushed his wife's hair aside to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. "I love you, too, Cordelia," he mumbled against her lips.

Giovanni couldn't help but inwardly chuckle as Delia began reprimanding him for calling her Cordelia, "For _Arceus's sake_ , Giovanni! It's **Delia**! De-Lee-Ah! Goodness!"

 **-This is the almighty Linebreak-**

It had been about 3 years since Asvoria's birth. Actually, it had been _exactly_ 3 years- today was her third birthday.

It would be a relatively large celebration- Asvoria was also celebrating her first word- well, sentence really. She had begun reading before she started talking, much to Cordelia's and Giovanni's surprise, and both parents actually worried their daughter was mute or deaf and had some sort of speech impediment or brain stunting or _something-_ nope, none of that. Their doctor assured them that Asvoria was perfectly fine, and was simply a 'late bloomer' -though Giovanni was quite sure the term applied to people who had growth spurts late- and that was that. Giovanni tried not to worry, but couldn't help but do so.

Thus, imagine both his and Cordelia's surprise when, merely 4 days ago on the 18th of January, their previously essentially silent child came up to them one morning at the breakfast table, eyes bright with excitement yet somehow also sleepy at the same time due to the child just waking up, asking in fluent English, "Mummy, Padre, can I have a Pokemon for my birthday?" Giovanni had simply sat, stunned, in his seat, before joining his overjoyed and relieved wife in glomping their daughter. Well, except Giovanni had _not_ glomped her, and he _definitely did_ _ **not**_ shed tears in happiness.

Nope. Not at all.

But Asvoria's request got Giovanni thinking. He had no doubt that his daughter would officially become a Trainer, considering her love for Pokemon, so it wouldn't hurt to give her a headstart in learning how to care for Pokemon… right? Right. And Giovanni had the _perfect_ idea.

Team Rocket's latest plan was to mass-breed Ralts, for two simple reasons- one of their final evolutions, Gardevoir, was recently discovered to be the newly-discovered Fairy-type, as well as having a Mega-Evolution. If Giovanni was able to mass-breed these powerhouses, he knew he would strike gold. And so, he sent Crimson Nightshade and Azure Nightshade, Crimson's fraternal twin, to Hoenn to capture ideal specimens of Ralts, Kirlia, or Gardevoir for breeding. Since they were some of his best agents, they excelled and brought multiple specimens for most efficient breeding rates. Giovanni could get the first egg laid to give to his daughter- she would learn how to care for Pokemon, and also learn patience as she waited for the Pokemon to hatch. It would be a perfect gift for his precious little girl- she could learn important values _(how ironic, considering he was the leader of a notorious crime organisation and didn't have much morality himself)_ , and have a powerful Pokemon in future to protect herself with.,, Indeed. A perfect gift.

Thus, he had Crimson and Azure deliver the Pokemon egg- seeing as how they were ten and less conspicuous than an adults, considering the orphanage in Pallet Town, in the dark of night. He hadn't expected Asvoria to be _awake_.

"Padre?" his daughter has asked hesitantly, clutching her Eevee doll, a gift from her best friend Gary Oak, to her chest as she stood a distance behind him. He remembered stiffening, and the twins' automatic reaction of reaching for their Pokeballs -being born into Team Rocket did leave one more… cautious than others- freezing at Giovanni's glare that screamed ' _Don't you dare.'_ Giovanni slowly turned, holding the box containing the Egg behind him, before giving a strained smile at his child. "Don't worry Asvoria, these are my… friends. They came to… give me something. They'll be going _now_." Crimson and Azure seemed to get the message as they began slinking away- until Asvoria, ever the generous one, insisted with a troubled look on her face, "Padre, can't they stay over tonight? It's so late and they're only a little bit older than me… it's not safe!" And, as much as Giovanni hated to admit it, he couldn't defend against his daughter's teary eyes -manipulative, cunning little Giovanni-copy- and begrudgingly relented. He quickly shooed the twin Rocket agents into his home, whispering menacingly, "Hurt her, or tell **anyone** about my family's existence, and _I will_ _ **end you**_ **.** " The twins had nodded solemnly, before hesitantly following Asvoria to her room, as they had never had such social experiences before, being born into a criminal lifestyle. Giovanni had let out his held-in breath through gritted teeth as he. too, ascended the stairs to his and Cordelia's shared bedroom to sleep. Arceus, that was close. He was lucky he'd ordered Crimson and Azure not to wear their Rocket uniforms..,.

And, with his luck, Asvoria _somehow_ managed to become attached to the Nightshade twins enough to consider them as pseudo older siblings in the _one night_ they stayed over. One night. Only Asvoria Ketchum would be capable of such a feat, with her strangely endearing self. Of course, the mutual fondness between the twins and Asvoria practically obligated Giovanni to _(begrudgingly)_ invite them to her birthday party. _Arceus_ , he was getting soft. He had to go crush some other kid's dreams or something, now.

And, today, on January 22nd, they would be celebrating Asvoria;s 3rd birthday… with Cordelia's many, _many_ , _**many**_ eccentric relatives. Arceus save him, it wasn't like he disliked them, it's just that he normally would get overwhelmed by experiencing all of their _everything_ _**all at once.**_

 **-This is the almighty Linebreak-**

There were 14 of Cordelia's relatives attending thus far.

Her family contained 2 main branches -well, there was a third, the Reverie branch, that broke ties with the family many generations ago, apparently- the Vilaire branch, and the Guertena branch, from which Cordelia hailed.

First arriving at the party was a family of three; Lucina, Aaron, and Riley Vilaire. Lucina had married into the family via Aaron, and Riley was their firstborn son. Technically, they were a family of four, though- Lucina had recently conceived another child. Aaron, named after the prestigious Sir Aaron Vilaire, who was their ancestor, was also Asvoria's teacher in offensive Aura use, resulting in Riley and Asvoria being rather close cousins, since they not only were of similar ages, but also often training together in harnessing Aura for offensive use, as both Riley and Aaron were offense-type Aura Guardians.

Next had been another family of three, this time hailing from the Guertena branch; Ignatius, Theresa and Reiner Guertena. Reiner, an offensive-type Aura Guardian despite both his parents lacking the power of Aura, also trained with Riley and Asvoria under Aaron's tutelage. Giovanni personally disliked Ignatius- the man just rubbed him the wrong way. He struck Giovanni as a backstabber. However, before he could think on the subject more, Giovanni's thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash as two someones quite literally fell through the front door's opening.

These two were Natasha and Owain Vilaire. Natasha was Aaron's younger sister, and his rival. Family reunions were always chaotic when the two were together, as they always, _always_ ended up fighting or competing in some way, but Cordelia managed to convince them to tone it down, for Asvoria's sake. Owain was about as eccentric as his adopted mother, who was about as strange and eccentric as they come, so Owain was _very_ eccentric. Natasha was a defense-type Aura Guardian, adopting an orphaned Owain when he was a young child when she noticed his dual-type Aura mark and decided not to let his talent go to waste, taking him under her wing. Thus Owain trained with Asvoria more than both Reiner or Riley did, since he trained under both Aaron and his mother along with Asvoria. Giovanni knew better than to remark on Natasha's or Owain's… kookiness. He had witnessed with his own two eyes, a few years ago, before Asvoria's birth, Natasha beat a fellow Aura Guardian to a pulp for insulting her adopted son. Despite her defense-type Aura alignment, she could still pack a punch with her vast knowledge of weapons use and various martial arts, her all-roundedness making her a veritable force of nature, especially when angered. Under Giovanni's personal request, she also taught Asvoria how to use a few weapons and the martial art of Capoeira for self-defense if her Aura, for some reason, couldn't or shouldn't be used.

Rushing in soon after Aaron and Natasha began arguing softly, (read: whisper screaming) was David and Barry Palmer, followed by a less-harried Maria Palmer. Maria was Cordelia's sister, David her husband and Barry, their son. Barry was a carbon copy of his father- rushing everywhere, always aiming to be the best, and just being really _rushed all the time of every day of_ _ **ever**_ _._ Maria, conversely, was a relaxed, down-to-earth woman who was overwhelmingly kind and generous.

Strolling in casually ten minutes later, "fashionably late" and not giving any shits, was Cordelia's casanova of a brother, Jonathan Guertena. The sole bachelor of Cordelia's generation in her large family, along with Natasha being the sole bachelorette, Jonathan was almost always surrounded by fawning women due to his good looks, confidence and charm.

So yes, Cordelia's family was… strange, to say the least.

Arriving the latest were the Nightshade twins, dressed in casual, non-Rocket-related clothes. They actually seemed like normal children. Crimson had her carmine red hair tied in a low ponytail, wearing a loose black sleeveless hoodie over a blue singlet, along with long, white skinny jeans and black high-tops, Azure a nigh opposite with his red T-shirt, sleeveless white hoodie and high-tops, and black cargo pants. The main thing that set apart from typical children was the hardened look in their eyes.

Asvoria was ecstatic to see all her loved ones in one place, excitedly introducing Crimson and Azure to just about everyone before the celebration started. A large, three-tiered cake was brought in, peppermint ice-cream flavoured and thusly a mint green colour, decorated with lilac cream and sugar roses. After a loud, chaotic rendition of Happy Birthday _*coughcough*_ _ **Natasha and Aaron competing to see who could sing the loudest**_ _*cough*_ the gifts were presented to Asvoria.

She first opened the gift from her absent best friend, Gary Oak, who couldn't come due to having to follow his grandfather to a conference of some sort, and grinned widely at the sight of a mixtape of her and Gary's favourite songs that she could transfer to her SoundPod. _**[A.N. Basically an iPod, yeah? Carry on.]**_ Next was Aaron's family's gift, which was also a Pokemon Egg. Giovanni felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance as Riley animatedly informed Asvoria that it was a Riolu egg- "Dad gave me one, too!"

Asvoria then chose to unwrap the gift from Owain, and gave a shout of glee when she saw it was a book of Pokemon fables and such, due to her, Owain and Natasha being voracious readers. She then carefully opened Natasha's gift, which had hand-drawn wrapping paper, of which the contents nearly caused a riot. There were two items in the box; the first being an ornate tungsten ring, inlaid with hat Giovanni recognised as a Mega Key Stone, and small diamonds surrounding the Key Stone. Natasha cheerfully told her niece, "I specially enchanted it to always fit you; it'll grow or shrink as you do, so you'll never outgrow it, hun." "Yeah, that's all fine and dandy, but why the bloody hell is a gun in there as well?!" Aaron yelled.

Giovanni recognised the revolver as a Smith and Wesson Model 500. It was made of some sort of black metal, likely tungsten as well, with a 10.5inch barrel and diamond embedded along the barrel and forming a cursive 'A' on the grip. "Calm your tits, Airhead. It's for self defense. I'll teach her how to use it. And besides…" Natasha suddenly glomped the unprepared Asvoria, yet continued in a wholly serious tone, "When she grow up, it's obvious she'll be a looker… she needs a weapon to defend against creepers and such." After a few more minutes of arguing, Giovanni decided to step in, "I am perfectly fine with Natasha giving Asvoria a revolver. Her reasoning is sound, as well. Besides, it is good for her to practise using it while young. Should she have to use it when she's older, she would already have long gotten used to the recoil of shooting." The arguing essentially dissolved, most of the party attendants staring at Giovanni, who was reclining on a comfortable couch near the gift unwrapping table, with a glass of champagne in his left hand. "You see! Giovanni is obviously very smart, and informed about guns! For some reason? Anyway, seeing as how Ash's own dad approves, it's totally fine!" Natasha declared. Giovanni mentally questioned the nickname "Ash", then brushed it off.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Delia entered from the kitchen, where she'd been bustling about making food for everyone. "Honestly, all of you have _no idea_ how to recover from awkward silences!" her cheerful interjection elicited a few chuckles from her male relatives, and an indignant snort from a certain rosewood-haired maniac _*ahem*_ _**Natasha**_ _*ahem*._ After swiftly taking off her apron, she walked over to the previously-silent Nightshade twins, who stared up at her with equally apathetic gazes. Despite that, she still smiled warmly at them, grabbing each of their hands and half-dragging them into the circle formed by the guests around the birthday girl, where they'd previously been keeping to themselves at the side of the room. The tins blanched simultaneously, every criminal instinct screaming _**get the fuck out of here**_ , hands subconsciously twitching towards where their Pokeballs normally would be, but were currently absent.

Asvoria's ecstatic greeting saved them from further awkwardness; "Sorellona! Fratellone! You got something for me?!" the young girl excitedly hugged both of them, and to Giovanni's shock -though his face didn't show it- he saw his subordinates' eyes soften as they both patted her head. Asvoria, in a manner not dissimilar from her mother's, dragged the twins to sit next to her.

Their differences were obvious- where Asvoria was relaxed and happy, the twins were tense, perched stiffly on the edge of their seats- yet the little ravenette's presence seemed to relax them, and Giovanni wondered if she had sensed their anxiety with her Aura and was thus calming them down with her own Aura. Azure scrambled to get something from his pocket when Crimson elbowed him, soon pulling out a slightly larger than palm-sized box wrapped in black paper with a velvet ribbon tied in a simple bow around it. Asvoria gently took the offered box, carefully untying the ribbon and setting it aside, and opened it. "Oh! It's so nice! Grazie di cuore infinite!", to which the twins, despite not understanding Italian, still got the gist and blushed heavily. Giovanni couldn't help but smile at her method of thanks, translating roughly to ' _infinite sincere thanks'_ \- and her sincerity showed through the sparkle in her eyes. The ravenette hurriedly put on the gift- a simple, platinum chain bracelet, with a single charm on it; a gift box, linked to the bracelet by the bow, with the number 3 engraved onto it. After putting on the bracelet, Asvoria grabbed the lilac ribbon, using it to tie her hair in a ponytail.

"Oh my Arceus, you two are adorable!" a certain redhead exclaimed before glomping the shellshocked twins, who were so red-faced they resembled tomatoes. Asvoria and Delia laughed similar, tinkling laughs along with most of their relatives, as Owain joined the group hug, Riley facepalmed and Aaron tried to save the twins from the "idiot little twerpette", to which she replied via kicking him in the shins. Natasha's blue-haired sibling went down, and it was at this point Jonathan decided to interfere.

A pink energy surrounded Natasha, Aaron, and Owain, with an identical energy surrounding a Chimecho gleefully flying around Jonathan's head. Giovanni blinked as he **swore** he saw the image of a Chimecho fade to reveal a small pink cat-like creature, before snapping back to its original appearance. _Did I really…?_ he questioned himself. "All right, children, break it up, or else," the young man drawled, with his left hand raised, a blue Aura surrounding it and the wing-shaped mark framing his left eye glowing with a similar Aura showing just what 'or else' was. With an indignant glare, Natasha surrounded herself with a lilac Aura, breaking the Chimecho's psychic hold on her body, grabbing her adopted son from the air before stomping off to the side of the room. At this, Jonathan gestured his head towards the Psychic-type Pokemon hovering near him, extinguishing the blue light surrounding his hand, stating simply, "You can go back now, Rose." The Chimecho apparently named Rose obediently returned to it Pokeball, and Aaron dropped right out of the air. "Ow…" he mumbled, rubbing his sore ass as he got up, then flinching as a loud -and slightly obnoxious- voice rang out, "Can I give Ash my gift now?"

The voice came from young Barry, who was fidgeting madly as he held a semi-large box, next to his equally energetic father who was holding a much smaller box. The normally demure Maria huffed affectionately, rolling her eyes, and replied, "Yes. Barry. Go ahead."

The young blonde practically launched himself at Asvoria, tripping on the carpet and landing in a heap next to her feet. Asvoria, giggling, helped him up, after which he continued as though nothing happened, presenting the gift to her with much gusto and a shit-eating grin. Asvoria curiously opened the box, before gasping and lifting up the contents; an obviously handmade scarf of black alpaca wool, with beading and embroidery forming rose patterns on both end of the scarf. Asvoria buried her face into the soft fabric, nuzzling it as Barry proudly declared how he made the scarf, slumping over in a put-out manner as Maria softly corrected that it was done with much help from her. Nevertheless, Asvoria hugged her older cousin, thanking him profusely, which perked him right up with a blush on his cheeks. "Mom and I made it so you can visit us in Sinnoh and be prepared!" David Palmer, overcome with impatience, gently pushed his son to the side, presenting his gift to his niece with his son's gusto- it was clear who Barry took after. Asvoria accepted the small, simple black box, which bore the brand of Sinnoh's Poketch Company. It seemed that each region had some favoured travel tech of sorts; Johto and the Pokegear, Hoenn and the PokeNav, Sinnoh and the Poketch, Unova and the C-Gear or Xtransceiver, Kalos and the Holo Caster… Hmm. Perhaps Giovanni could look into creating one for Kanto…

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud cry of "Hey!" Giovanni turned his gaze to the source; Reiner Decadere. The boy looked extremely… fired up, to say the least. He looked fit to burst, really. "Ash, don't accept that lame old Poketch! Dad and I got you something way better- the C-Gear!" Asvoria, comically sweat-dropping, took the gift from Reiner's hands, opening it to reveal said C-Gear. It was amethyst coloured, unlike the black Poketch, and Asvoria seemed to have a preference for the C-Gear for being her favourite colour, but hesitated as she clearly didn't want to disappoint her relatives. She was saved from making the decision by Jonathan, who gallantly strolled back into the circle around her and somehow managed to elegantly drop into a sitting position next to her. He slung an arm over her shoulder, then declared, "Hows'about this, sweetheart- I give both this thingamajigs to this mechanic friend of mine, and he can help you merge the two, yeah? The C-Gear's sleek looks and calling function, with the Poketch many, many apps- good deal, yeah?" Asvoria brightened considerably, flashing him a cute smile and nodding vigorously. "There we go. Keep smiling for me, yeah, babe? A pretty little girl like you should never frown, sweetheart," he smiled gently at his niece. offering his left hand for a high-five. Asvoria's smile widened, and she high-fived her uncle, who clearly had a soft spot for her, considering how callous he was to basically everyone else. Begrudgingly satisfied, David and Reiner stepped down, so to speak, to finally let the birthday girl's parents present their gifts to her.

Cordelia immediately stepped in to give Asvoria her gift, smiling apologetically at her husband, who also clearly was itching to give his gift. The redhead presented her gift; a rose pendant. The petals were made of a black metal of sorts -maybe Tungsten? Though the similarity to Natasha's gifts would be uncanny. Perhaps…?- and lined at the edges with white gold, with small diamonds embedded in the lining. The pendant hung from a white gold chain with a clasp at the back. Asvoria 'ooh'ed at the sight of the beautiful necklace, gently grabbing it and immediately trying it on. However, her short child's arms couldn't quite fasten the clasp properly, which prompted Cordelia to help her clasp the necklace. The girl grasped the pendant, admiring the rose, until Cordelia, smiling, reminded her that Giovanni hadn't given her his gift yet. "O-oh! Scusi tanto, Padre!" ' _Awfully sorry Father!'_ Giovanni couldn't help but smile at his daughter, replying, "Ti perdono, dolce cuore." ' _I forgive you, sweetheart.'_ Then, he continued, "Vieni qua, Asvoria" ' _Come here, Asvoria.'_ She obediently went over to Giovanni, and he revealed his gift; the Ralts egg. Asvoria squealed in excitement, and threw her arms around her father, ecstatic that he remembered her request. Giovanni promptly returned the affectionate gesture, then playfully put his finger to his lips, saying, "It's a secret, dolce cuore," when the young girl asked what Pokemon it was. Giovanni would never know that, at the side of the room, Crimson was sitting with a blank stare, stunned, and Azure with his jaw dropped. Asvoria could only huff in indignance, before hopping off her father's lap, Ralts egg in arm, grabbing the Riolu egg in the other, and maneuvering up the stairs to her room, presumably to put her eggs near her window for some sun and, more importantly, warmth. When she returned downstairs, everyone began eating Delia's delicious dishes -she ran one of the top restaurants in Kanto for a reason- and chit-chatting.

After hours that seemed to fly by, everybody eventually left, save for Crimson and Azure, since Asvoria managed to convince her father to let them sleep over.

Again. Yup, Giovanni was getting soft. Arceus save him from her daughter's puppy-dog eyes.

 **-This is the almighty Linebreak-**

 **Aaaaaaaand that's a wrap! This was a plot bunny that was bouncing around in my head for basically forever, and with a four-day weekend (SG50 FTW!) I finally got around to writing it.**

 **Tell me what you think of it so far! Leave reviews, or PM me- whatever! I'd love to hear your feedback, so I know how I need to improve, or maybe get some plot ideas… Anything is fine really. If you want, I** ** _guess_** **I could answer some questions about where this fic will go…**

 **Anywho, it's almost 1am in the morning, and I've been running on energy I seem to get when I listen to Nightcore or Five Nights at Freddy's songs, and my left ear hurts from constant pressure on it due to headphones. Time to go to bed… ;P**

 **-D. Nat Kiasu**


	2. Explanation

Hello everyone, long time no see yeah?

This chapter isn't actually an update, more like... an apology letter. Let me explain.

After receiving multiple reviews and a PM asking when I will update my stories, I realized just how long it has been since I last updated. Since I know how shitty it feels to have an author suddenly seemingly disappear and never update, I felt like you all deserved to know the reason for my hiatus.

Long story short, I'm busy.

Basically, for those who may understand, I'm in my Secondary Four year of my education, which means that in October-November I will be having my O Level Examinations. For those who don't understand, that means I'm graduating soon-ish, but before I'm free I have to take a national exam that will basically determine my future. (Okay, I'm slightly exaggerating, but also not really.) Since this exam is so very important, I'm almost perpetually busy with school, homework, tuition, as well as trying to not let my health deteriorate to nothing with exercise and (trying) to get a better sleep pattern. While I'm sure I'd be able to get some writing done if I sacrifice my reading and gaming time, I feel like those are the few things keeping me afloat in this sea of stress. I hope you guys understand; I'm only human, after all.

The good news though: I do have a new chapter on the way, and if I can find the time to finish it this month, you bet your ass I will. If not... after the big exam, I have holidays and I will definitely get back to writing during that time.

Guys, thank you all so much for the reviews, favourites and follows. Whenever I see an email telling me about getting them, it brightens my day. I'm so grateful for all your support.

Much love,

~ D. Nat Kiasu


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